News

The Full NS Radius Range Now In Stock At The Bass Centre

Tuesday, 20 May 2014 | Dave Good

Hot on the heels on Guitar & Bass Magazine's glowing appraisal of the NS Design CR5 Radius Bass, The Bass Centre is pleased to announce that we now have complete stocks of both 4 and 5 string models in Amber, Natural and Charcoal Satin finishes, with a choice fretless and fretted fingerboards.

Guitar & Bass Magazine Loves The NS Radius Bass

In the April edition of the UK's essential monthly instrument bible, Guitar & Bass Magazine, the NS Design CR5 Radius Bass - the game changing new instrument from Ned Steinberger - garners a whole heap of praise from resident bass guru, Gareth Morgan, and scores an amazing 90% rating.

Gareth loved the 5 String Radius' ergonomic design and perfect balance, the amazing arsenal of sounds available from the integrated NS Polar/EMG magnetic pickup system and on-board active electronics and - of course - the "fantastic" new self-clamping tuning system.

"NS took their time putting the CR5 together, and they haven't wasted a single millisecond"

"It's a wonderful instrument that manages to look cooler than a headless bass has any right to... the piezo/magnetic pickup melange produces effectively three basses - a bit of an animal with the magnetics, more polite and refined when blended or earthy and thudding in piezo mode"

"Of course, the price tag is up in the professional echelon, but we think it's worth every penny"

The NS Design CR5 Radius Bass Arrives

Tuesday, 5 November 2013 | Dave Good

Meticulously crafted in the Czech Republic, the NS CR5 Radius Bass Guitar embodies the breadth of experience, insight and design brilliance which only Ned Steinberger can bring to the creation of a new classic. His approach to the Radius, as with every new instrument, was to re-explore each facet of a bass guitar, leading to innovations such as the Fusion neck, the Diradial body design, the NS tuning system and NS/EMG pickup system.

However, what makes this instrument most remarkable is its seamless integration of feature, form and function. The sensuous lines of the Radius are balanced and refreshing, which is exactly how it feels to hold and to play it.

Most of all, the Radius is, by design, the most sonically dynamic, versatile and exciting bass available today.

The Bruce Thomas Profile bass

Tuesday, 20 August 2013 | Dave Good

Fresh from The Bass Centre - and the latest addition to our British Bass Masters Series - we're proud to unleash the result of a truly unique collaboration with bass icon, Bruce Thomas... The Profile Bass.

Bruce, one of the all-time great UK bass-men, whose sinuous, inventive & melodic bass lines contributed to one of the greatest British groups of the post-punk era, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, has been a friend of the Bass Centre and a loyal Elites user for 20 years and counting, so we naturally jumped at the chance to team up to produce a bass to Bruce's specifications.

Just like its Brtiish Bass Masters siblings, the Woodstock, Blockhead and Wyman instruments, the Profile is a genuine player's bass - inspired by and developed directly with the artist himself.

Phil Spalding... Flying The Flag with Bass Collection

Thursday, 27 June 2013 | Dave Good

Caught in action with Simon Townsend's band at Islington's O2 (by ace lensman Alan Barnes), powerhouse bassistPhil Spalding, shows off his brand new Bass Collection "Mod" Power Bass... single pickup perfection in pristine china white with a splendid custom union jack pickguard and the first model in the range to be kitted out with the awesome Babicz Full Contact bridge system.

Guy Pratt... 25 Years With Elites

Monday, 24 June 2013 | Dave Good

The latest Elites ad campaign has been celebrating not just to the longevity of the UK's best bass string brand, but also paying tribute to the bassists who have been using Elites strings for over a quarter of a century.

This month Guy Pratt is highlighted, an artist who has been using Elites since 1987.

Guy’s career in music took off when, at the tender age of 19, he was asked to join the Australian band Icehouse for a world tour, part of which included supporting David Bowie on the legendary “Serious Moonlight” tour of 1983. This led to him being asked to perform with Robert Palmer, Bryan

Ferry, Womack & Womack, and even being in The Smiths for a week, to name but a few, before being thrust into the global premier league of bassists when David Gilmour asked him to play for Pink Floyd on the band's post-Roger Waters "Delicate Sound of Thunder" and "P*U*L*S*E" world tours in 1987 and 1994. He also toured as part of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's On an Island band, alongside another Pink Floyd member (and his father-in-law), Richard Wright.

Apart from the Floyd family, Guy has worked with Gary Moore, Roxy Music, Michael Jackson, Echo & The Bunnymen, Kirsty MacColl, Tears For Fears, Lemon Jelly, The Orb, All Saints, Madonna, Stephen Duffy, Robbie Robertson, Tom Jones, Iggy Pop, Toy Matinee, Coverdale/Page, The Power Station, Bond, Natalie Imbruglia, The Pretenders and The Transit Kings (with The Orb's Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty of The KLF). As a composer, he has written TV scores for "Spaced", "The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star", the Vic Reeves re-boot of "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)" and Jimmy Nail's "Crocodile Tears", won a Grammy and been nominated for 2 Ivor Novello Awards and co-wrote the UK Number 1 hit "Ain't No Doubt" (sung by Jimmy Nail). Amazingly, Guy has also found time to present his won one-man music/comedy show, "My Bass & Other Animals" (which debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005) AND written a best-selling book, based on the show.

And Bass Centre Elites Strings have been with him the whole way.... even if, as Guy himself claims, the "jury's still out"...!!

New for 2013.... The Bass Collection Portrait Bass

Tuesday, 30 April 2013 | Dave Good

Brand new for 2013, The Bass Centre is proud to offer a first look at the latest fantastic addition to the Bass Collection range... The Portrait Bass.

Based on the hugely popular and critically lauded Bass Collection Jive Bass, The Portrait Bass, with it's smooth, lined fretless, rosewood fingerboard and distinctive scratchplate-free body, is a direct tribute, in both name and design, to the late Jaco Pastorius, whose maverick talent and fretless virtuosity forever redefined the role of the electric bass.

The Portrait Bass further consolidates the tradition established by the Bass Collection's Jive and Power models, offering period-accurate appointments as well as superb build quality, finish, playability and tone. Taking it's cue from the vintage designs of the 1960's, the Portrait features an authentically classic feel and styling... vintage spec pickups, "Super Slim 60's" neck profile, chrome pickup cover and beautiful "Solar Flare" finish.

Of course, with a design informed by The Bass Centre's 30 years of experience and expertise, the Portrait Bass also features a thoroughly modern flourish - being the first Bass Collection instrument to be factory-fitted with the Babicz Full Contact Bridge system. Delivering increased sustain and harmonic response, particularly appropriate to a fretless instrument, Babicz hardware will soon become standard issue for all Bass Collection models.

New Elites Endorsee - Matt Brooks of Wille & The Bandits

Thursday, 25 April 2013 | Dave Good

The latest professional player to start using Bass Centre Elites strings is Matt Brooks, bassist with genre-bustin' roots rockers, Wille & The Bandits. Matt (pictured below left, with lead singer and guitarist Will Edwards and percussionist Andrew Naumann) is a astonishing player and The Bass Centre are very pleased to welcome him to the fold...

Based around Will's whiskey soaked drawl and his amazing slide guitar work, the Bandits incorporate grooves from blues, folk, world music and heavy rock adding tongue drums, djembe, lap steel and double bass to push the boundaries of a traditional three piece set-up and creating a huge sound in the process.

With two albums under their belt ("Breakfree" and "New Breed") and 200 gigs a year (!!) including marathon tours throughout the UK and Europe, festival appearances and support slots with acts as diverse as Joe Bonamassa, Deep Purple, The John Butler Trio, Status Quo & Roots Manuva, Wille & The Bandits have built a solid reputation as a live act.

Matt Brooks' bass work is particularly noteworthy; his playing is both rhythmic and elegantly harmonic, as you can see from his performance on the Bandits' epic instrumental "Angel"...

High Praise For The Bass Collection Jive From Guitar Interactive Magazine

Monday, 18 March 2013 | Dave Good

In the latest issue of Guitar Interactive - the superb FREE online guitar bible - Dan Veall takes the Bass Collection Jive through it's paces and finds that The Bass Centre really hasn't cut any corners at all in delivering a modern, yet authentically vintage-styled, instrument with beautiful looks, great playability and killer sound... and all at a amazingly, low price.

Singling out the finish ("immaculate"), the frets ("absolutely brilliant"), the Babicz Full-Contact Bridge, the meticulous set-up and great range of tones available from the Jive, Dan sums it up perfectly as "a very good bass... for not a lot of money".

Click on the Guitar Interactive logo below and you can check out the full article for yourself, along with a great video review in which Dan lets you see - and hear - exactly why the Bass Collection Jive Bass is such a "fantastic instrument"...

Peter Hook at The London Bass Guitar Show 2013

Friday, 8 March 2013 | Dave Good

Peter Hook's masterclass at the London Bass Guitar Show was unquestionably a major highlight of the weekend... a brilliant opportunity to hear from one of the UK's most enduring and influential bass pioneers. We were thrilled that the legendary musician was able to take time out to pay a visit to The Bass Centre stand. A long-standing pro customer and endorsee, Hooky has been using Bass Centre Elites strings for an astonishing 20 years.. from New Order, through Revenge, Monaco, Freebass, right up to his latest outfit, Peter Hook & The Light.